Sarah Palin for prez in 2012?

The results of the November presidential election not withstanding, voters increasingly are seeing Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin as a serious contender for the party's 2012 presidential nomination.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain's selection of the Alaska governor provided a spark of enthusiasm and an infusion of money that surprised even seasoned campaign observers. Palin is the first woman Republicans have nominated to the vice presidential spot, and the second woman in American history to have the honor. Former New York Rep. Geraldine Ferraro was nominated for the same spot on the Democrat ticket in 1984.

Socially conservative Republicans greeted McCain's own nomination with frustration. They remember well his history of collaboration with liberal Democrats such as Sens. Ted Kennedy, John Kerry and Russ Feingold. Vietnam veterans and POW-MIA families also united against McCain who for years sabotaged their efforts to force Vietnam to explain what happened to American servicemen known to have been alive in captivity but were never returned.

By contrast, Palin's credentials, her candor, enthusiasm, wit and personal story have intrigued voters and brought a backlash that only underscores how threatening her candidacy is to liberal Democrats.

"Sarah Palin is not a genius," rants the ultra-liberal Huffington Post blog. "I'm not going to say she's a moron like 'Mongo' in 'Blazing Saddles,' but she's certainly not someone whose brilliance we aspire to. She's not well-traveled, not well-read, not well-versed on the issues. Just like President Bush. So we can sit here and say, no way, she has no chance to be the Republican nominee. But she does have a chance. And it makes me want to throw up on my computer."

Conservative magazine Politics and Critical Thinking is already ballyhooing a Palin-Jindal ticket if McCain is elected and decides not to run for a second term. The second half of the ticket could be Bobby Jindal, the young and charismatic Republican governor of Louisiana. The magazine stated: "If McCain does not run in 2012, where does that leave Sarah Palin? Obviously, running for the (presidency)."

Most people believe McCain, even if he wins in November, would be too old for a second term. He would be 76 in 2012. They say the fresh-faced 44-year-old Palin, with her conservative views and her history of maverick politics, would be the perfect counterpoint to another run by Barack Obama - or Hillary Clinton.

Pollsters already are checking on public reaction to a Palin vs. Clinton possibility, and the results should be encouraging for Palin. Even a CNN poll after the Palin-Joe Biden vice presidential debate revealed "the folksy Palin was more likable [by respondents], scoring 54 percent to Biden's 36 percent and 84 percent said Palin did a better job than they expected."

After Palin did well in the debate, people began talking not only about 2008, but also 2012, writes The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza.

"Palin's performance, particularly her willingness to stand by conservative principles on things such as gay marriage and do it with a smile (and even a wink) - further endeared her to not only conservative opinion makers but the rank and file GOPers who will play an outsized role in picking the next nominee of the party in 2012 if McCain comes up short in 32 days time," he reported in early October.

She brought "her own national prospects back from the brink of disaster with a performance that - while occasionally exposing her lack of knowledge on certain issues - managed to keep her star ascendant for a party that may well be looking for a new face to lead it on Nov. 5," Cillizza wrote.

He goes on to say Palin will end this race, win or lose, with extremely high name identification nationwide. Regardless of the outcome, she will be a rock star on the Republican fund-raising circuit over the coming months and years. And, for a party that may well be looking to redefine itself in 2012, Palin stands out in a field that could include former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as well as Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, among others.

Palin, America's most popular governor, watched her approval ratings fall after she was mishandled by McCain's campaign strategists. They tried to remake her into their own political creature and it was not until she balked that they curbed their remodeling program.

The national media, mostly over the top in support of Obama, smelled blood and jumped on Palin, creating a fictitious candidate even her own family did not recognize. She was constantly misquoted and outrageously misrepresented by media mavens such as Chris Matthews, Katie Couric, The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times.

The media still has not backed off, but voters - usually smarter than the pundits - began to see they were being sold a bill of goods as Palin fought back with humor and her unwavering beliefs.

Paul Bedard, in U.S. News and World Report, presents a roadmap for Palin to follow to the White House. He suggests she should spend a little time in Washington getting acclimated to the political landscape and go on to take a leadership role in the Republican Governors Association or the National Governors Association. (That's the path trod so successfully by Bill Clinton.)

Her next move should be national and international travel to energy and military hot spots. This would pump up her resume and make her an easier sell as the head of a national ticket.

Says a key Republican promoting the scenario: "As of today, Palin is the top contender. She clearly has the potential to be a winning top-of-the-ticket candidate: solid character, solid values, fire in the belly, etc. But four years is a long time. Neither Romney, Huckabee, or others have the complete package. If Palin spends a bit more time traveling overseas and domestically, broadening her horizons, and wins re-election in Alaska in 2010, she will be the nominee in 2012."